Artist Statement
Painting is the recording of the world, its environment and humanity through my eyes, my senses, my spirit. When that expression touches another's soul, the worth to me is great.
--Jeanne Harris Weaver
As an oil painter, I continue to pursue knowledge of art and its techniques through color, form, light and composition striving to always be true to my personal form of expression. It is that process of painting that is important to me--to take a subject and with the process of painting reveal my spirit without fear. When the result is successful and the on-looker identifies with it, the effect is magnificent.
Before beginning a painting, I develop the composition and color palette through a number of sketches, and sometimes a color study. Trial and error has taught me to work out any problems before I put oil to canvas. I prefer to lay the composition onto the canvas freely. Although my art is representational, I am less concerned about the details in a scene and more concerned about the sense it communicates. My subject matter encompasses places where I have lived or visited in the United States or around the world and those subjects which touch my heart.
I began to study iconography during the pandemic. In iconography I work with the methods of old, painting with egg tempera on naturally gessoed aged poplar board. I am not always interested in copying icons of the past but rather creating icons for the future. The icon to the right, Pentecost, is my creation and sits in the Sanctuary of St. David's by the Sea Episcopal Church, Cocoa Beach, FL.